Amazon.co.uk tells me that Arthaus is releasing La Scala's Raymonda (2011) with Olesia Novikova and Friedemann Vogel on April 9th, on DVD and BluRay. The blurb says it's the most faithful version to Petipa. Any opinions on this? Any one see it in Milan?

Amazon.co.uk tells me that Arthaus is releasing La Scala's Raymonda (2011) with Olesia Novikova and Friedemann Vogel on April 9th, on DVD and BluRay. The blurb says it's the most faithful version to Petipa. Any opinions on this? Any one see it in Milan?

I think Natalia saw it in Milan, but it is also on YouTube in 3-4 parts. You can watch the entire thing unless they've removed it recently. It is a reconstruction so it is as faithful to the original as possible and is wonderful. Great to know it is coming out officially as a commercial release!

Kirov or Bolshoi?????? I own a copy of the Bolshoi, with Taranda, who like others say is amazing, he is the essence of a Saracen warriior, proud dramtic and exellent in the role. But I do not like Bessmertova, she was well past her best, and I found her un inspiring, finding difficulty in many of her variations. Though saying that the production at the Bolshoi was better than the Kirov which seemed very dated. Kolpakova was lovely, but the staging seemed very old fashioned and the quality of the DVD (Rented from Lovefilm) was far below that of the Bolshoi.

I believe there is a DVD of the Paris Opera Ballet (Mezzo) with Marie Agnes Gilot., which is a Nureyev re-staging, in what seems to be based on the Kirov version, with of course his own idea's. Whether it is avauilable in general I do not know, but there are some clips on YouTube. I think it was released in the last few years, whereas the others are much older. I also think I saw a recent advert on Amazon for a production in the last few days, But I may be mistaken, and it was something else. Good luck in your choice

You can also see the entire production on YouTube in four parts. It's still up as of today.

You can uncomfortably see a blurry Raymonda on YouTube, if you enjoy hunching over a computer. Much better to sit in the comfort of one's sofa with a big-screen TV on the wall. A high-quality experience. Something akin to the HD DVD of the Italian telecast is what balletomanes should be able to see, once the Arthaus disc is for sale. I also hope that Arthaus will 'retake' Raymonda's famous 'clapping solo' in Act III to remove that awful 'split-screen effect' with the piano on the right-hand side.

I'm with Natalia about You Tube. There's no question it allows us to see a huge range of material that is otherwise unavailable, but the YouTube experience is often more educational than pleasurable. I will admit there is nothing like the surge of delight when one stumbles across an unknown clip by a favorite dancer. However I have the kind of mind that seems to insist on reading the comments and often regret this because of the twits, the trolls, and the wholly unnecessary rudeness about essentially trivial matters of opinion. This can spoil any pleasure. A big HD screen, a Blu-ray disc or decent DVD, a favorite chair and a glass of wine is sheer bliss after a tough day. I often think how lucky I am that this is attainable.

I wonder if the La Scala Raymonda was filmed by the same person who filmed La Scala's recent Aida and Tristan und Isolde (both on dvd). That was Patrizia Carmine. She would show shots of a light while Waltraud Meier is singing a pivotal moment in Tristan und Isolde. Why did she think we want to sit there and watch a lamp while Meier is singing???? Another time I think she focuses on Meier's costume instead of the face. In Aida she kept focusing on all sorts of inanimate objects. Really shocking choices during filming or editing, in my opinion. It made me so mad in both situations.

So I wonder if she filmed the La Scala Raymonda. Maybe it is some sort of bizarre trend to take away focus on the exact thing people want to focus on in Italy. I have no idea, but it is a big flop to do things like that!!!

I would never compare the quality of a broadcast or DVD to YouTube, but if I wanted a sense of the production and to not base my decision on what others have said before I invested in a DVD, I wouldn't dismiss YouTube out of hand.

....I believe there is a DVD of the Paris Opera Ballet (Mezzo) with Marie Agnes Gilot., which is a Nureyev re-staging, ....t there are some clips on YouTube. I think it was released in the last few years, whereas the others are much older. ....

This has never been released commercially although many folks have copies from French friends who DVR'ed it the couple of times that it aired on French TV. Dorothee Gilbert writes about this on her website: